The North East

The North-East benefits from a fast evolving FinTech ecosystem, with a corridor of innovation running from Newcastle upon Tyne to the historical university city of Durham. It has a mix of traditional financial services and a growing technology sector, creating a fertile ground for FinTech development.

The region has expertise in open banking, blockchain, mortgages, savings, cyber, and fraud tech. It also boasts several enterprise software development providers who have tech teams embedded in top tier investment banks and SME’s.

The North East is home to Sage, the UK’s second-largest tech company renowned for their accounting software, as well as Newcastle Strategic Solutions, a world-class provider of Savings Management platforms to major retail banks. Durham is home to Atom Bank, one of the best-known challenger banks and pioneers of the world’s first digital mortgage.

In North Tyneside, Stellium Data Centre is the UK’s largest data centre campus providing global connectivity via The North Atlantic Loop to transatlantic cable routes from the USA to Northern Europe connecting North East England to New York City in 66 milliseconds.

The North East is also home to the National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD), located in the 24-acre state-of-the-art innovation district – Newcastle Helix. NICD is co- funded by UK Government and Newcastle University and is a space for collaboration, knowledge transfer and innovation.

The region also benefits from a dedicated cluster management company, FinPact. It is the key delivery vehicle for the North East Fintech strategy and works closely with business networks in the region to support Fintechs as well as develop a thriving and world class ecosystem to foster collaboration, skills and innovation through financial technology.